Which is more important to your attendees’ conference experience? Delivery of information or discovery of content? There lies the tension for 21st Century Conferences offering education sessions. The Faulty Premise For Conference Delivery As A Priority In most conference experiences, an attendee's role is to consume information and knowledge that is hypothetically scarce. A conference organzier’s role is defined by looking for ways to do what the conference already does better. It … [Read more...]
Zombie Conferences Create Dead Leaders Walking
Is your annual meeting nothing more than a zombie conference? Zombie conferences provide schedules packed full of informative presentations and sessions that try to consume your brain. Presenters rapidly shovel content at attendees. Their goal is to cram as much information as possible into a person's mind. They stuff more information into their presentation aiming to cover as much content as possible so that attendees feel like they got your money's worth. Here's the problem. Zombie … [Read more...]
Are You Corrupting Your Education Sessions?
Less is more. Too much, too fast, it won't last. That's a favorite adage used by some educators. The underlying concept is that you can present more and faster. But your listeners will simply forget more and faster! Overloading The Mind Organizations and conference planners are often pressured to offer more presentations and content. More, more, more is the customers' cry, not just the lyrics of a disco song. Pushing more content in a fixed time only burdens the mind. It guarantees … [Read more...]
Creating Zombie Conferences That Consume Attendee Brains
Most conference marketing should say: Come to our Zombie Conference! We want to consume your brain! At least that statement would be more authentic to many conference experiences. Many conference schedules are packed full of education sessions and informative presentations. Organizers rapidly shovel and push information at attendees. It often feels like a medieval joust with each presenter trying to ram more information into the cavernous regions of our mind. Before we can even digest or … [Read more...]
Information Dump Or Learning Facilitator?
It's time to decide which one your conference is: information dump or learning facilitator. Is there a difference between information and education? Education and learning? A quick review of the definitions for each within the context of meetings helps provide clarity. Information Information is concepts, data, facts and research. Communicating information is normally show-n-tell lectures where attendee learning is minimal. Education Education is an activity designed to bring about changes in … [Read more...]
Obituary For A Conference Education Session
It was a wasted ninety minutes of life. 5,400 seconds of possibility that are now gone forever without a shred of hope, learning or motivation. It had such potential. It died so quick and so young. No one understood a single thing that was said. The barrage of PowerPoint slides with small fonts, too many bullets and conference mandated template slides was painful. It was an agonizing and excruciating ninety minutes. All of the attendees felt it. "We want our ninety-minutes back," they … [Read more...]
Stuff Your Conference Speakers Need To Know: The TED Speaker Commandments
I love these ten TED speaker commandments. If you've not seen them before, make them part of your conference speaker packet! The TED Speaker Commandments Thou shalt not simply trot out thy usual shtick. Thou shalt dream a great dream, or show forth a wondrous new thing, or share something thou hast never shared before. Thou shalt reveal thy curiosity and thy passion. Thou shalt tell a story. Thou shalt freely comment on the utterances of other speakers for the sake of … [Read more...]
How To Use Pecha Kucha And Ignite Models Effectively In Your Event
Finding new ways to engage conference participants is a challenge for many conference organizers. Entertainment, the Internet and media have transformed society into the participatory culture. Today's conference audiences are accustomed to quick action, rapid scene changes, racing soundtracks and the ability to change their direction with a click. They expect visceral stimulation and are unwilling to sit passively for long periods of time. Enter Pecha Kucha and Ignite. Pecha Kucha: … [Read more...]
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